I've mentioned before that two days a week Ryan drops me off about 6 miles from home and I ride my bike the rest of the way, while he turns around and heads to class. A few weeks ago, we went through our usual Thursday routine and it wasn't until I'd started biking and he had long since driven away that something felt wrong. It wasn't a leaking tire or an issue with my brakes. I'd forgotten to put my helmet on!

Needless to say, the ride home was an adventure. I felt as though every car that passed was judging me for my unsafe riding and probably pointing me out to their children in the backseat, citing my bad example. I cringed each time I came across another man or woman on a bike, thinking of how I "tsk tsk" the bikers without helmets that I often see. Now I was one of them. Aside from my guilt and shame, there was the actual danger of the situation. I hate to say it, but St. Louis drivers are not the most friendly when it comes to cyclists. Each time I bike home I already feel like I'm encountering one or two accidents with a driver (Mom, Grandma, you didn't read that!), and I felt all the more exposed and vulnerable without a helmet on!

I haven't posted any ice cream since June 19th, when I shared the Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream with you. Compared to last summer when we usually had at least 2 different kinds of homemade ice cream in the freezer at all times, this is kind of odd. I definitely haven't lost my mojo for homemade ice cream. The problem is that I developed a recent obsession with root beer floats. Obsession as in, eating one (sometimes two) a day. It's probably time to put this obsession to a stop. So, I've stopped buying root beer and vanilla ice cream.